The Edirol FA-101 FireWire Audio Capture Interface gives phenomenal power to the studio musician. It's capable of 24-bit/96kHz digital audio resolution on all 10 channels for pristine multichannel recordings with full duplex monitoring and recording. In addition to 10x10 24-bit/96kHz performance, the FA-101 also offers stereo recording and playback at 24-bit/192kHz for performance at DVD-A and SuperCD quality.

The portable musician will love that the FA-101 draws its power completely from the FireWire bus ”- there is no need for an electrical hookup. At an event, all of the band's hardware can be routed through the FA-101 to output to monitors, and at the same time the show can be recorded and, during the break, CDs burned to sell on the spot. The Performance DJ will rely on the FA-101's rugged metal chassis to allow him to pound the clubs without worrying about the state of his audio interface. Back at home, the FA-101 will return as the centerpiece to the home studio.

Because of the FA-101's ability to supply so many simultaneous inputs, it's perfect for any portable audio application. Portability with no limitations means you'll be able to take the FA-101 to any kind of performance to record multitrack audio.

The 2 phantom-powered XLR/TRS combo jacks offer premium mic preamps for incredibly clean recording with studio condenser mics or dynamic stage mics. The back of the FA-101 hosts a number of 1/4" TRS balances inputs and outputs: six inputs and eight outputs in all. The front-mounted S/PDIF optical I/Os transfer audio to and from other digital devices, and the built-in MIDI interface allows a synthesizer or controller keyboard to be connected to the FA-101 for sequencing directly into a software program.

FEATURES

10x10 24-bit/96kHz audio performance

Stereo I/O 24-bit/192kHz audio performance

FireWire bus-powered

Direct monitoring

Low-latency driver support

If you're looking for an audio interface capable of simultaneous multichannel recording on your computer at the highest quality possible order the FA-101. Call or click now!

Overall I have been pleased with this unit. Edirol seems to carefully test their drivers before releasing a product, and they get it right the first time. I bought this unit because it the first firewire interface for a PC that could be DC-powered. I was pleased with how small and light the unit is. If you make sure that the FA-101 is not sharing any IRQ with another hardware device, and that all Windows bulls*** is turned off (screensaver, auto-update, etc.) this unit should perform flawlessly.The preamps are what you would expect from a box in this this price range- unacceptably noisy for classical music recording, probably fine for a project studio recording pop/rock. The meters are very basic- just four little LEDs, but at least they give you some visual indication of clipping. You probably already know that the only digital I/O is via optical S/PDIF, so hopefully you can live without coaxial S/PDIF. OK, Here's what you really want to know that they don't tell you in the manual. First off, when operating at 192 kHz, the FA-101 is only a 6 in/out device. A little deceptive considering that they silkscreened 10 IN/10 OUT 24 BIT 192 kHz on the top. It works great, but it's only 6 channels. As a side note, this really is a 10 IN/10 OUT device at 96 kHz and below, meaning you can clock off the optical input getting you 2 channels and then use all 8 analog inputs for a total of 10. Some other audio cards won't let you mix digital and analog input. So kudos to Edirol for that. Secondly, there is variable gain on output channels 7+8, controlled by a little knob on the back panel. This is useless for many people, and this extra gain stage makes those channels significantly more noisy than channels 1-6. Thirdly, unlike most other audio cards, the FA-101 doesn't change sample rates automatically. You have to change the sample rate with a knob on the front, and then power off/power on the unit to get the sample rate to actually change. What this means is that you will almost certainly need to close any programs using the device any time you want to work at a different sampling rate. This can be a real pain if you are working simultaneously in video at 48 kHz, and audio at 44.1 kHz. Finally, there is a built in firewire hub, allowing you to chain additional firewire devices. BUT...you CANNOT chain 2 FA-101s together to get 16 channels. Also, I have had lots of problems connecting a DV camcorder and loading in/out video. And I cannot play DVDs using my external firewire DVD-ROM. Apparently, it's just too much data being pushed in and out through a single firewire connection- you will get tons of drop outs in the audio. I'm not really sure how this limitation compares with other firewire units like the MOTU 828 or Presonus Firestation. Maybe they all have this problem. For the money I paid for this unit, I am happy with my purchase. Every unit has its drawbacks that they never tell you in the product description, and my experience so far has been that the drawbacks are worth living with, due to the overall performance of the FA-101. The manual is basically well written and the FA-101 and its drivers interact well with Windows XP.

Again, nice unit but the recording levels are too low.I really wanted to like this but the recording levels are just too low. If you buy this be prepared to crank you instruments/microphones to get a decent recording level.Reliable and interfaces well with my mac but the levels are too low.Going to spend more money on a replacement soon.

I waited a LONG time for this unit to arrive in stock, and I love it. I have done Multitrack in the field with it an have had no problems. Rock solid. Great Sound. Firewire direct to the laptop. an it is DC powered or powered Via the Firewire so it IS field ready.

I started out recording with a sound blaster sound card, and finally wanted to achieve a higher level of quality and flexibility. After buying this unit I am happy to say that I've definitely accomplished what I'd set out to do. Don't get me wrong, you still need to have the rest of your studio in order (which I only partially do-i.e. monitors, mics, etc.), but this is a huge step in the right direction. I have only used the front two inputs to record with, but knowing that, if I ever need to track multiple audio sources at the same time, I can do it, is great. The only thing I didn't like about it was that I had to go into my computer and change all sorts of settings the first day I got it. It wasn't hard though, because they walk you through the changes in the manual. At this point it is running smoothly and making demos for me on a daily basis.All said---I would recommend this product to anyone who wants to have a formidable home studio.

I've tried Cubase M|4 - that was crap! I tried Layla - crap! I tried M-Audio USB OmniStudio - crap! Quattro - crap! I've returned them all back to the store. Now Roland's FA-101 - now we're cooking with Mazzola! This little unit is underestimated...it's been sweet from installation to mixdown. Haven't done much with video. The unit is in one word - SOLID. Don't hesitate to purchase it. Got an awesome price too. Happy composing.

I've owned one of these for about 10 months now and it really is a good portable solution for recording. It has a nice selection of inputs, high reliability, and ease of installation.That said, it has weak mic preamps. Well, weak isn't the right word, so let's try "conservative". If you are jamming into a large diaphram condensor, then no problem, but if you are doing a VO or using a dynamic mic, then you're going to have low levels.

Out-Of-The-Box, the brand-new Edirol FA-101 would never work with my Mac Quad. It recognized nothing and everything Edirol on the Mac was greyed out and stayed so. Worst, I called Edirol Technical Support several times only to reach voices on the other end of the line that stumbled and bumbled all around any true knowledge of the Edirol FA-101, were totally useless and completely uncaring in technically supporting the FA-101. Shameless and shameful! From my experience, stay far, far away from the FA-101 and further away from Edirol.